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Deinosect Virus
If you were looking for the Deinosects as a faction or race, see Deinosects. This page only concerns the virus which creates and defines the Deinosects. The Deinosect Virus (Latin: Hominem pestiferum, or Man's Plague) was a hyperevolutionary viral parasite that was "accidentally" created by Iridium Biotech research Dr. Ross in 2122. Originally co-opted by the company as the Performance Enhancing Substance Test, or PEST, it was intended to be used to create the "new era hominid", or a superior form of human life. It became a pet-project of the company's CEO Grant Ollins and his friend and head researcher Doctor Ross. As PEST, the Virus passed dozens of in-house safety inspections through information falsified by Doctor Ross and fake samples. Ross slowly turned the Virus from the nearly-stagnant, human-only form that it was previously into a hyperevolutionary superbug that targeted all forms of life on Earth. Eventually, Ross began to release the Virus in ever increasing dosages to the world eventually sabotaging a major transportation shipment in Africa, allowing widespread release of the disease on Earth. The Deinosect Virus immediately multiplied and within 10 years forced the Abandonment of Earth by humanity. The Virus's stages of development started with initial spread and ended up with a permanent airborn status in the atmosphere, at which point the Virus went dormant until outside stimuli, such as the nearby presence of possible hosts, allowed it to wake up and activate again. This meant that a planet was almost surely permanently lost once the Virus was introduced and not contained properly, and past a certain point there was no hope for the planet, turning it into a permanently uninhabitable rock. Details Attributes Infectiousness Hominem pestiferum was extremely infectious, though this was by design. It rapidly attacked the host's immune system, paralyzing its central defensive line, and bypassed most any defense a body could put up to it. In the latest stages of planetary infections, where the atmosphere was filled with Hominem pestiferum's particles, humans could easily live on the surface in shielded domes which filtered the air, or with simple breathing units that did the same, the former of which was used for cities and the latter for military operations. Lethality Once infected, Hominem pestiferum either mutated its hosts or killed them. The latter was more common, and the lethality rate of the virus on humans was 92.000002% (with the other 7.999998% consisting of mutated subjects, and 0.000002% being survivors). Those who survived were equipped with the best immune systems, or had the area of infection severed before it spread further. As such, once it reached airborn stages, almost all life on the planet was killed off, including remaining human populations. Those who were infected by the virus and not killed or transformed into the Deformed were considered immune to the virus' effects, if they survived without amputation. Of the original population of Earth, only around 200-odd individuals survived a Deinosect Virus infection and were immune to it, and none of them were carriers due to the Virus being killed off as it entered the system. While these individuals were studied, there was almost no way to replicate the survival mechanism as it relied upon genetic luckiness. Spread Hominem pestiferum was capable of being spread through the air, direct contact, blood, bodily fluids, and through food eaten by its victims. It was, however, unable to spread well in bodies of water and many marine animals survived. Marine mammals primarily were amongst the only waterborne creatures infected due to their breathing of air in the late stages of infection. Most other marine animals survived and were uninfected during any stage of a planet's infection. Function Hominem pestiferum worked by suppressing and destroying a host's immune system, and then working its way into the central nervous system and brain of a victim. When in the brain, Hominem pestiferum either killed the host over a period of hours, or mutated and controlled them over a period of days. Once infected, the infected would begin to gain size and strength, mutating heavily into almost unrecognizable forms aside from basic features such as wings. Humans were one of the only species to retain any semblance of intelligence and vague independence, and a select few infected individuals formed the Deinosect leadership, the Cortex of the Hivemind. The majority of the infected were from the phylum Insecta, as they proved to be more susceptible (approximately a 32% mutation rate) to the disease and well suited for its effects (bulking up, their exoskeletons provided immense protection and their claws, venoms, and poisons dangerous weapons). Any infected individual was almost certainly more suited for combat than its previous forms. Many of the infected kept traits from their former species. Tigers, for example, would stalk their prey, while humans were intelligent. Turtles wore a large protective shell, and many insects could fly. The resultant forms of creatures infected by the Deinosect Virus were placed in a new domain of life, Deinosecta, and given new scientific names to couple with their new forms. Trivia * The Deinosect Virus contains many similarities with the Flood from Halo. Category:Virus Category:Disease Category:Deinosect